A few weeks ago we planned a surprise trip to NY to visit friends and family. A relative of ours was sick for quite some time, battling cancer for several years. Over the last few months her condition had escalated. We wanted to be there and spend some time together with family. We had planned the trip, flights were in place, secret pick ups from the airport were arranged, and we couldn’t be more excited to see everyone. Five days before we were set to leave AZ, we got a call from the east coast that our loved one had passed. Those next few days were a whirlwind of emotions.

We hurried to move our flights up, finished some projects we had been working on over here, and got things in order for the trip. We took the red eye Tuesday night, arrived in NY on Wednesday morning at 6am, and attended funeral services by 9am. We felt like walking zombies with full hearts and cold hands. The first few days were rough, but being in a house full of our closest family and friends was so comforting.

We visited some of our old favorite places on Long Island and a few new ones too, before the big snow storm Jonas hit. We spent some time in Huntington Village and Long Beach, getting our coffee and macaron fix. Some places worth checking out are: Southdown Coffee, Kiss My Cake, and Gentle Brew.

The day before the storm we went to a local grocery we used to frequent when we lived there, to pick up a few things, and it was a mad house! We forgot how crazy everyone would get before a snow storm…stocking up on groceries, especially bread and milk. 😉 Saturday we were snowed in so we spent the day playing in the snow with our nephews, making paninis, and cozying up with some Netflix. If you follow along with us on snapchat, you also might have seen a pretty intense Pluto and Mr. Potato hide-and-seek session with the kids. Haha 🙂 It was nice to just take it easy and relax together with everyone. We caught up with a few friends over lunch the next day at a local pizza place.

After the snow was cleaned up a little, we headed into the city for some good coffee at Happy Bones, shopping in SoHo, and lunch at The Butcher’s Daughter. So good — get the green juice. That night we took the train into Brooklyn to meet with our friends from Bridge & Burn who were in town for a trade show. It’s no secret we’ve been fans of their company for quite a while now. We have partnered together quite a bit over the last year, so it was nice to put a face to the name after all this time. We can’t wait to go visit these guys in Portland soon! We had such a fun dinner full of good conversation and a lot of laughs at Maison Premiere. (If you’re a seafood lover — definitely check it out!)

We spent our last day on Long Island with family and then a quick lunch in Long Beach with Steffy and her husband Matt. It was so great meeting after being friends on social media and chatting for so long. It’s amazing how instagram and blogging has connected us with some of the sweetest people. It’s nice to know we have two new friends on LI when we go to visit.

We got back into town early this morning. Given the circumstances, we tried to make the most of the trip and stay surrounded by our family and friends. It was definitely hard to say goodbye to everyone, but it feels good to settle in to our home again for the next few days. In just two short days we’ll be packing our bags again and heading on a Caribbean cruise! We can’t wait! We’ll be snapping a lot on the trip. In the mean time, be sure to follow along with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more updates and photos!

4 comments on “Blizzard 2016: New York”

I’m so sorry to hear that you were in NY for tragic reasons, but so glad you could all be with one another grieving. As always, your photographs are beautiful and I can’t wait to see what your next adventure brings.

As always, your photographs are beautiful and I can’t wait to see what your next adventure brings. I kippers you on social networks you are a wonderful couple. Your photos are so wonderful. I’m in love with them